Breaking news... in 3 billion years!
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Google has apparently added a new feature to their search engine: the snippets shown for pages that it thinks look like news stories now begin with a date. The idea is nice — you can easily filter out old news — but of course the detection isn't always 100% foolproof. Hence, if you search for something like the predicted end of our galaxy as we know it, you might get a result like this:
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my WTF meter is reading zero.
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*whack*
No, the darned thing is still reading zero.
Let me realign the Fripkin coil....set the trisecting goniometer to '11'....
Nope. Still reading zero.
Wait--one more thing. Let's try replacing the batteries--this thing is really bad on batteries....
*hmph* Still zero. Flat zip zilch nada nothing zero.
I'd have to say that not only is there no WTF here, there isn't a WTF in 20 square miles. (For you metric users, that's...uh...112 decibels.)
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I can only see one WTF, and its this thread.
Does the OP want to ignore, retry, abort?
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@SEMI-HYBRID code said:
Either that or a picture of Scruffy, the janitor, with the caption "second". Both are acceptable.@zipfruder said:
my WTF meter is reading zero.
seconded.
(i think you write it like that.)
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The Real WTF, is that when I click on that pretty blond model on the mozypro ads I get taken to a screen with some gruff guy in a green shirt.
I hate that ol' bait and switch. Why can't they use more pics of her to get me to buy thier service?
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@Mole said:
I can only see one WTF, and its this thread.
Does the OP want to ignore, retry, abort?
Here, let me help...
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Your nicely-written prelude would be more relevant if one of the results started with a date like"13 Dec 3,000,000,000". But, uh, none of them do... so, uh, good job? I guess the benefit of the doubt is that you attached the wrong screenshot?
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For the benefit of those who missed the funny bit, I've updated the screenshot to circle the datestamp Google provided for the first result. I suppose there is no WTF here really, as it makes perfect sense for Google to helpfully inform us that it's now only 2 billion 999 million 999 thousand 999 years and 352 days until the expected collision. Surely anything less would be misleading.
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That certainly is a WTF, as the bit you circled in red says "13 Dec 2008", at least on my PC...
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Which is the date the page in question was last updated. WTF meter still reading zero.
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Yes, but the current WTF is that everyone is seeing a different picture than vyznev.Hence my last reply...
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@Mole said:
Yes, but the current WTF is that everyone is seeing a different picture than vyznev.Hence my last reply...
he changed it since the thread started, tho. Everyone should be on the same page. wtf meter is still reading zero.
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Maybe vyznev can explain, but I fail to see why he has circled the date of a 'news' posting.
The other confusing part is "it makes perfect sense for Google to helpfully inform us that it's now only 2 billion 999 million 999 thousand 999 years and 352 days until the expected collision.".Where does it say this? Clearly not in the screenshot he posted.
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My WTF meter is also reading zero...
(Made this, feel free to use it in any of the non-WTF threads that seem to pervade the Sidebar.)
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@Fred Foobar said:
Filed under: Whatever happened to the mug?
It fell out of general usage after a while when there was an actual TDWTF mug for purchase.
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He seems to think it's a WTF that Google chose to display the date that an article about the end of the universe was last updated. I can't imagine why.
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@TwelveBaud said:
Actually, the mafia was urged not to use it by ammoQ. We respected that and stopped. Since we were the only ones using it in the first place, it fell out of usage.@Fred Foobar said:
Filed under: Whatever happened to the mug?
It fell out of general usage after a while when there was an actual TDWTF mug for purchase.BTW, does this mean that the mug has become a meme?
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@belgariontheking said:
@TwelveBaud said:
Actually, the mafia was urged not to use it by ammoQ. We respected that and stopped. Since we were the only ones using it in the first place, it fell out of usage.@Fred Foobar said:
Filed under: Whatever happened to the mug?
It fell out of general usage after a while when there was an actual TDWTF mug for purchase.BTW, does this mean that the mug has become a meme?
It got to the point where the mafia could just post "Nominated for the Mug" without even having to link the actual mug, so I'd say so...
I kind of miss the "Enjoy your mug" threads that popped up every now and then. We need more of that completely random humor around here to make wading through the piles of xkcd worthwhile.
